Cuomo rebukes Rockland rabbi for Sandy comments

Nov. 5, 2012

Written by

Jon Campbell and Joseph Spector

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday issued a sharp rebuke to a Rockland County rabbi that linked Superstorm Sandy to the state’s legalization of same-sex marriage.

In a radio interview last week, Rabbi Noson Leiter warned of “divine justice” while signaling that the damage caused by Sandy may have been meant as punishment for allowing same-sex couples to wed. Leiter is the executive director of Torah Jews For Decency, which is based in Monsey, Rockland County.

“The Lord will not bring another flood to destroy the entire world, but he could punish particular areas with a flood, and if we look at the same-gender marriage recognition movement that’s occurring, that certainly is a message for us to learn,” Leiter said Oct. 30 on “Crosstalk,” a syndicated radio program.

Cuomo pushed back sharply on Monday, blasting the rabbi for the comments and calling on him to apologize. Cuomo is a prominent proponent of same-sex marriage and pushed the Legislature to adopt it last year, making New York the largest state in the nation to legalize it.

Leiter’s comments were “as offensive as they are ignorant,” Cuomo said.

“This catastrophic storm claimed the lives of more than forty New Yorkers,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This kind of hateful rhetoric has no place in our public discourse, and is particularly distasteful in times of tragedy.”

Leiter did not immediately return a call seeking comment. He made the comments as part of an argument to support Neil Di Carlo, a Conservative Party Senate candidate looking to unseat Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie.

Saland was one of four Republican senators who voted in favor of same-sex marriage last year. Cuomo endorsed Saland last month.

Di Carlo was on the show at the same time as Leiter, and former Gov. George Pataki called on Di Carlo to condemn Leiter.

“These remarks, which were made in support of state Senate candidate Neil Di Carlo are offensive and disgraceful — he has a responsibility to repudiate them,” Pataki said.

There was no immediate comment from Di Carlo’s campaign. Di Carlo claimed during the radio show that most people in the district were opposed to same-sex marriage, despite Saland’s vote.